Lobbyists spent $8.7 million to lobby Kentucky lawmakers this year—and tobacco giant Altria led the pack at $156,000, According to records released by the Legislative Ethics Commission this week.
Some have pointed to the tobacco lobby's heavy spending during the 2014 session as a major contributing factor in the defeat of a statewide smoking ban.
Here are the top 10-spending companies and business interest groups to lobby the General Assembly:
(If you're having trouble seeing the graphic, go here.)
The commission noted that the amount was about $470,000 less than the record-setting $8.8 million spent during the 2012 session, a decline it attributes to the activities of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association.
The CHPA is the legislature's single biggest lobbying spender ever, setting a record of $486,053 during the 2012 session. The pharmaceutical group primarily spent on a pricey "phone banking and website advertising allowing direct citizen contact with legislators," according to the commission.
The report also details a dozen entities that were among the biggest lobbying spenders in 2014, but not in 2012.
· Norton Healthcare ($68,900)
· Kentuckians for the Commonwealth ($67,546)
· Pew Charitable Trusts ($65,985)
· Kentucky League of Cities ($65,548)
· Home Builders Association of Kentucky ($60,948)
· Wellpoint ($58,500)
· Kentucky State Building & Construction Trades Council ($57,051)
· United Parcel Service ($54,950);
· Boardwalk Pipeline Partners ($54,500)
· CSX ($54,001)
· AK Steel ($53,658)
Kentucky Association of School Administrators ($50
